I have a cat that is about 7-8 years old, and she likes to meow in the night. Yesterday night, she had three sessions of meowing. Each session was really loud and lasted for quite a long time. My father apparently suffered the most from her meowing. He threatened that if she meows again at night, he's going to spray her repeatedly with the water gun to make her wet. He also said that he would make sure she cannot run away by locking up the rooms that have furniture she can hide under.
My dad does love the cat, he's just very annoyed by what she did. However, I wonder if what he intends to do is really the best thing to do in this situation. What do you guys think? Should he do that? If he should not, do you have any advice on how to get my cat to stop meowing at night? She doesn't seem like she's deaf. I think she's bored or somehing like that. She's a very attention-seeking cat in her waking hours during the day.
Should my dad punish the cat for waking him up at night?
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Feline Overlord
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Ruth B
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Re: Should my dad punish the cat for waking him up at night?
Hopefully it is just empty threats coming after a bad night's sleep.
A water pistol or plant sprayer can be a good deterrent for a disobedient cat but punishment must come immediately after, or preferably during the bad behaviour, otherwise the cat won't know what it's being punished for, and a quick spray on the flank or back legs is all it takes not soaking the cat.
The best way to deal with a cat meowing at night is to ignore it, which is a lot easier said than done. If they aren't allowed out at night then one option might be to shut them in a single room with food, water, litter tray etc, as far away as possible from your Father's bedroom so when they do start meowing it won't disturb him quite so much. Alternatively giving the cat distractions might help, food balls that the cat has to knock about to get the food out can keep them entertained (but not if you have laminate floors, they make an awful racket and will probably wake your Father even more), or giving them their evening food in two parts using an automatic feeder that will open in the early hours, some cats settle down after eating.
In the end the only real solution is to learn to sleep through it, or invest in a good pair of ear plugs.
A water pistol or plant sprayer can be a good deterrent for a disobedient cat but punishment must come immediately after, or preferably during the bad behaviour, otherwise the cat won't know what it's being punished for, and a quick spray on the flank or back legs is all it takes not soaking the cat.
The best way to deal with a cat meowing at night is to ignore it, which is a lot easier said than done. If they aren't allowed out at night then one option might be to shut them in a single room with food, water, litter tray etc, as far away as possible from your Father's bedroom so when they do start meowing it won't disturb him quite so much. Alternatively giving the cat distractions might help, food balls that the cat has to knock about to get the food out can keep them entertained (but not if you have laminate floors, they make an awful racket and will probably wake your Father even more), or giving them their evening food in two parts using an automatic feeder that will open in the early hours, some cats settle down after eating.
In the end the only real solution is to learn to sleep through it, or invest in a good pair of ear plugs.
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bobbys girl
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Re: Should my dad punish the cat for waking him up at night?
Ear plugs! If they stop me hearing my OH's 'generator' snore, they'll stop your dad hearing the cat! 
Agree with Ruth, soaking the cat for something that happened in the past (even recent past) is not only not fair it is not going to stop the cat meowing.
Agree with Ruth, soaking the cat for something that happened in the past (even recent past) is not only not fair it is not going to stop the cat meowing.
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Feline Overlord
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Re: Should my dad punish the cat for waking him up at night?
Thanks for the advice!
My father will not punish the cat for something in the past. The next time she meows at night, he intends to get out of bed and do it then.
We live in an apartment, and the cat can be really loud when she wants to be, so I don't think there is a place in the house where my father will not hear her meowing. Also, locking her up in a room also will not work, because she likes being the queen of the place and going wherever she wants.
I'm not so sure about giving her distractions... she doesn't really play with toys, and she's not that interested in treats. The food idea might work, though.
We could ignore her, but I'm worried that if we ignore her, she could meow even louder (she wouldn't quit immediately, right?) and bother the neighbors in the adjacent apartments. If they complain, we actually might have to give away the cat.
I suppose I will just convince my father not to spray her more than once for now.
My father will not punish the cat for something in the past. The next time she meows at night, he intends to get out of bed and do it then.
We live in an apartment, and the cat can be really loud when she wants to be, so I don't think there is a place in the house where my father will not hear her meowing. Also, locking her up in a room also will not work, because she likes being the queen of the place and going wherever she wants.
I'm not so sure about giving her distractions... she doesn't really play with toys, and she's not that interested in treats. The food idea might work, though.
We could ignore her, but I'm worried that if we ignore her, she could meow even louder (she wouldn't quit immediately, right?) and bother the neighbors in the adjacent apartments. If they complain, we actually might have to give away the cat.
I suppose I will just convince my father not to spray her more than once for now.
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Antonio
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Re: Should my dad punish the cat for waking him up at night?
The best approach to try and solve the matter is to understand why your cat meows at night.
If she's bored, then it means you have to entertain her more during the day and especially before going to bed, so that she's a bit tired and she'd like to sleep rather than meowing.
If she's hungry, you might leave some extra food for the night.
It could also be too dark in the house at night. Try and leave a small light on in some part of the house. There are LED plug-in lights, they use very little power, less than 2W, but their light is enough to break the dark at night. Yes, cats are known to be able to see in the dark, but sometimes they appreciate some subdued light.
I always turn the LED light on before going to bed.
When Ruth B said that cats do not understand a punishment for something done in the past, she would mean that you have to intervene there and then. Just 15 seconds later would be too late, 15 seconds ago is past already in a cat's mind.
Does anybody of you get up from the bed during the meowing to see what your cat wants.
My cat, when she was very young, would meow at night. All that she wanted was a few minutes of attention, cuddles and a kiss. Once done this, she was quiet for the rest of the night.
If she's bored, then it means you have to entertain her more during the day and especially before going to bed, so that she's a bit tired and she'd like to sleep rather than meowing.
If she's hungry, you might leave some extra food for the night.
It could also be too dark in the house at night. Try and leave a small light on in some part of the house. There are LED plug-in lights, they use very little power, less than 2W, but their light is enough to break the dark at night. Yes, cats are known to be able to see in the dark, but sometimes they appreciate some subdued light.
I always turn the LED light on before going to bed.
When Ruth B said that cats do not understand a punishment for something done in the past, she would mean that you have to intervene there and then. Just 15 seconds later would be too late, 15 seconds ago is past already in a cat's mind.
Does anybody of you get up from the bed during the meowing to see what your cat wants.
My cat, when she was very young, would meow at night. All that she wanted was a few minutes of attention, cuddles and a kiss. Once done this, she was quiet for the rest of the night.